21st Century skills in Nigerian public schools

The NOBLE Club, a part of our Quality Education through Learning Centers in Africa (QETLA) program, equips public primary school children in disadvantaged communities with 21st century skills. NOBLE which stands for Notable, Outstanding, Bold, Leaders Extraordinaire; reflects our goal of developing exemplary citizens and instilling moral values from an early age. This is achieved through practical, interactive and creative sessions held during the school term on seven (7) selected themes (Leadership, National Identity, Communication, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Role Modeling, and Reading) facilitated by trained resource staff and industry expert volunteers. The pilot phase of the Noble Club was implemented in Model Primary School, Maitama, from February 2021 to May 2021, with 87 pupils as beneficiaries. The second phase was completed in July 2022 and had 60 pupils as beneficiaries. Due to the success of the first two phases, a third phase started in October 2022 with an upscaling to two additional schools,  and an initial participation of 166 pupils.

Project highlights:

Three (3) Problem-Solving and Critical Thinkingsessions were organized successfully; the children were given practical exercises and scenarios to provide them with problem-solving and critical thinking skills. One of these exercises included the children being divided into groups, where each group was provided with puzzles and STEM toys to solve as a team with a leader appointed. Therefore, through these exercises, children also learnt the importance of teamwork, leadership, and communication.  

One of the high points of this phase’s sessions for the children was their introduction to the world of aviation, with the help of an amazing volunteer, Gladys of i-Connect Aviators. During the session, the children watched short clips on the history of aviation, the Wright brothers and learnt other fun facts about aviation. The i-Connect Aviators team taught the children how to make recycled plastic bottle airplanes and airplane engines using paper. Each child was then tasked to create plastic and paper airplanes of their choice which they presented, explaining why they chose a particular type of airplane. At the end of the session, the children happily flew their paper airplanes outside.

The final session for the school term was Movie Day! The children watched the animation “Jack and the Beanstalk”. The objective of Movie Day is for the children to learn from selected movies, share what they learned and/or what they think should have been done differently. After the session, which was the last for the term, they were asked to provide feedback on their experience in the Noble Club. They gave suggestions and recommendations to be considered for improving the next term's sessions.

All in all this phase has seen the NOBLE Club make significant progress; with the addition of six fully trained resource staff and an increased number of beneficiaries across the 3 schools from 166 at the beginning of phase 3 to 253 pupils so far. With our commitment to ensuring every underserved child has the opportunity to acquire 21st century skills and your support, we know we can continue to make a difference in the lives of the children we serve.

Kindly support our work by donating during the upcoming LittleXLittle campaign from the 18th-22nd of September where donations of up to $50 get a 50% match from GlobalGiving and sharing why you choose to support us with your community of family and friends.

Thank you!